Moving Day

We moved into our little house on Reynolds Street in the midst of a snow storm.  And while it certainly made it messy and challenging, we got everything in!

Family Room Before:

After:

 
Kitchen Before:

 
Kitchen After:

 

Mountsberg Conservation Area

We enjoyed a nice long weekend and celebrated Valentines Day by visiting the Mountsberg Conservation area.  The snowy day was a perfect backdrop for a sleigh ride (complete with jingle bells), roasting marshmallows by a fire and hot chocolate.


Olly and Ruby were the sweetest horses.

We're moving to our new house in Oakville this weekend and can't wait! xx 

First visitor!

Our dear friend Allison came to visit us last weekend.  She was our first Canadian visitor (and coincidentally our first visitor when we moved to Charlotte too).  We so loved catching up and goofing around with her.

That time I {almost} went on strike.

Let me add some context to what I’m about to share with you.  Let’s go back a few years to what M and I now affectionately call the strike of ’07.  We were fresh off the plane as expats in New Zealand and Mat was whisked off to the Philippines on business for a week leaving me alone in Auckland. 

I’m not proud of the fact that I almost never left our hotel room.  It was then that I learned why they call it homesick.  Fear, uncertainty and loneliness closed me off to a new culture. 

We laugh at the story now as legend.  I went on to assimilate quite nicely to life in New Zealand.  But there was an adjustment phase.  In fact, there are a few phases to expiating.   

Keeping this lesson in mind, my recent reflections on our second expat home may not be so surprising. I’ll be honest; this time around I skipped the honeymoon phase all together.

Today, Feb 8^th, I sit looking out my window in Toronto and I’m done with winter {and I may have uttered that I am also done with Toronto a few times}.  Today was the worst.  Another day of gray, dreary snow and slush and a forecast stacked with another 5 days of the same.  

Here’s where I admit that I grossly underestimated the whole moving-to-Canada-in-the-middle-of-winter thing.  Lesson learned.  And a hard lesson indeed.

However, unlike the first time around, I haven’t gone on strike!  In fact, we’ve been doing our best to get out in the snow and explore our new city.  Evidenced by James Robert’s first attempt at a snow angel, he’s not too sure about this snow stuff either. 

This is the phase of expiating where I tend to keep score.  I’m currently mourning a variety of American paraphernalia that may sound trivial, but in actuality makes day-to-day much different. 

For example:

Toronto:

+people are nice

+the English spoken is understandable

+museums

+easy public transportation

+plethora of ethnic cuisine to try

Charlotte:

+friends

+family

+a home, with our belongings (we’re still living our of suitcases)

+weather that doesn’t require a snow suit

+a church

+Doctors we trust

+knowing my way around and where to do (key when with a toddler)

+Target (they are all closing here)

+Amazon prime

+American TV

+kids museums

+easy parking

+Chic-fil-A

If history is our guide, a year from now, we’ll hopefully laugh at this time.  Consider this our it-can-only-go-up-from here post. Finger's crossed!